Study: conservatives have far more balanced diet of social media than liberals

An interesting new study confirms what most conservatives suspect. We are far better than liberals and leftists at seeking out opposing views, the better to understand what the other side is saying and writing. T Becket Adams in the Washington Examiner:

A review of data in a new study by StatSocial indicates conservatives on Twitter are more likely to follow liberal partisans and reporters at left-of-center news organizations than their counterparts on the Left are to follow right-leaning figures.

"People on the Left are more insular," Michael Hussey, the analytics group's CEO, told the Washington Examiner media desk. "They're less interested in others' opinions. If that's what the data is showing, than I think that case can be made."

Hussey told the Examiner that StatSocial categorized left and right-leaning Twitter users by examining user data, including what social media users like, what their interests are and what they follow.

The group found that left-leaning Twitter users not only outnumber conservatives, but that they are also interested in hearing only from like-minded media figures, while right-leaning users hear from both sides.

Living in a media environment dominated by the left, conservatives naturally are exposed to views of the opposite political camp than are liberals. It is quite easy for liberals to live in a bubble, where all truth comes from the New York Times and the MSM that rely on that paper to identify what is and isn’t news. Many lefties, in fact, proudly affirm that they never watch Fox News or listen to Rush Limbaugh. And one can understand why: exposure to an alternative view might puncture their assumptions, which almost always affirm that they are good people because they are leftists, no matter how they treat others in their personal lives. Being a liberal means never having to take responsibility or say you’re sorry. The church of liberalism provides absolution.

An interesting new study confirms what most conservatives suspect. We are far better than liberals and leftists at seeking out opposing views, the better to understand what the other side is saying and writing. T Becket Adams in the Washington Examiner:

A review of data in a new study by StatSocial indicates conservatives on Twitter are more likely to follow liberal partisans and reporters at left-of-center news organizations than their counterparts on the Left are to follow right-leaning figures.

"People on the Left are more insular," Michael Hussey, the analytics group's CEO, told the Washington Examiner media desk. "They're less interested in others' opinions. If that's what the data is showing, than I think that case can be made."

Hussey told the Examiner that StatSocial categorized left and right-leaning Twitter users by examining user data, including what social media users like, what their interests are and what they follow.

The group found that left-leaning Twitter users not only outnumber conservatives, but that they are also interested in hearing only from like-minded media figures, while right-leaning users hear from both sides.

Living in a media environment dominated by the left, conservatives naturally are exposed to views of the opposite political camp than are liberals. It is quite easy for liberals to live in a bubble, where all truth comes from the New York Times and the MSM that rely on that paper to identify what is and isn’t news. Many lefties, in fact, proudly affirm that they never watch Fox News or listen to Rush Limbaugh. And one can understand why: exposure to an alternative view might puncture their assumptions, which almost always affirm that they are good people because they are leftists, no matter how they treat others in their personal lives. Being a liberal means never having to take responsibility or say you’re sorry. The church of liberalism provides absolution.